The European Commission decided today to refer Finland to the EU's Court of Justice for failure to implement a directive on road infrastructure safety management. The directive should have been fully implemented by 19 December 2010. Failure to implement the directive can put road users at risk.

The EU rules

Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management, adopted in 2008, aims to guarantee the safety of the trans-European road network. The main instruments requested by the Directive are road safety impact assessments, safety audits and inspections and safety rankings of the road network.

The reason for today's action

The Commission took the decision to refer Finland to the Court of Justice as it has not completely transposed the directive into national law. The directive should have been fully transposed by 19 December 2010.

The practical effect of non-implementation

The rules on road infrastructure safety management aim at guaranteeing the safety of the trans-European road network. Each year more than 30 000 road users die in Europe. Ensuring safe road infrastructure will help the objective of avoiding losses of life and accidents on European roads. The lack of implementation of measures aiming at a safe road infrastructure puts road users at unnecessary risk.